Sort verifier for punched cards



Nov. 17, 1953 P. MARTIN 2,659,265

SORT VERIFIER FOR PUNCHED CARDS Filed Dec. 18, 1950 20A 20 11Q2OC23 i137 i|||lh LEO PATRICK MART/N INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 17, 1953 UNI TED s TATES PATENT OFFICE 2,659,265 solar VERIFIERFOR PUNCHE-D' CARDS Leo Patrick Martin, Decatur, Ill. Application December 18, 1950, Serial"No.*201,370

'Ihe present invention relates to an improvement in a sort Verifier for punched cards, such as illustrated, described and claimed in my prior patent application, Serial No. 175,335, filed July 22, 1950, now Patent No. 2,-645,'152,-issued July 14, 1953.

While above application shows a mechanism that has proved especially eflicient and durable in actual "use, and practical and economical 'to manufacture, it nevertheless is the object of the present invention to provide an improved con struction having stillgreater efficiency and durability in actual use, and .being still moreipractical and economical toprod-uc'e.

Another object is to provide a device 'of this type possessing facilities for ready attachment to and operation upon the conventional elongated glasswork .top of known types .of punched card sorting machines.

A further object is to provide in this improved device such structure and arrangement of parts as enable its use with-a minimum ofphysical effort by the operator, while at the same time effecting rapid and accurate verification of punched cards.

My presentinvention-ofcourse, is adapted for use with automatic electric card sorting machines of known typeswhich'present information resulting from their operation, as, for example, the'sortingof punched cards into decks representing various classes, and enabling the stacking of: individual deckse f cards in ineat and true arrangement for replacement in the sorting machine for successive sorting.

In practice, my improved invention enables the stacking, verifying, and general handling of wholesorted decks of punchedcards in but a few moments time, with a maximum degree offaccuracy, and it "is necessary only to tak the decks of'sorte'd punched cards from'the' individual sorting pockets of the sorting'machine, place them in the invention and true them up by butting "the cards against the stop provision on the device, after which the back-plate thereof is raised, effooting the illumination of the electric light element within the device and enabling the sort to be verified by sighting through the punched holes in the stacked cards, which are normally in perfect register throughout the deck.

Of course, when by such procedure a hole is observed to be dark or blocked because of erroneously punched or sorted cards, the interfering card is removed from the deck.

It will appear obvious to those skilled in the art, that this improved sort verifier efiects a conslderable saving of time, reduces operator fatigue to a minimum, eliminates injury to individual card in the deck, and enables'a maximumdegree of accuracy in verifying the sort takenfrom the sorting machine.

With the foregoing and other objects and'advantages in view, and which will become apparent as the invention is fully understood, its novelty resides in the construction,combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter specifically described, distinctly defined in the appended claim and illustrated in the-drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved sort verifier mounted on the right-hand end of the'work-top '(shown'in fragment) of a card sorting machine.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the'arrangement shown in Figure 1, looking into the casement "and showing a fragment of the windowplate removed.

Figure 3 is a view taken transversely of Figure Figure 7 is a fragmentary view of a punched I card or conventional type, showing a typical arrangement of punched holes therein.

A practical exemplification of my improved sort verifier may be seen in the following description and from reference to the accompanying drawings in detail wherein the numeral l0 designates generally the easement comprised of the bottom plate H, the end plate l2, the end plate [3, the top plat l4, and the back plate l5, integrally assembled. Integrally mounted on the back plate I5 is one leaf l 6A of the hinge IS, the other leaf [6B of which is adapted for integral engagement, usually with bolt means, to the rear portion of the frame member A of the work-top B of the sorting machine, which is not shown.

It is here noted that the frame member A and the work-top B are no part of the invention,

but are shown simply to facilitate the orientation thereof.

On the inner face of the end plate I3 is suitably mounted the electric socket element I! by conventional nut and bolt means as at X, the incandescent lamp element I8 being threadably engaged in said socket element I1.

An electric momentary contact" switch It is suitably mounted in the bottom plate 15, and standard electric wiring designated generally as at W provides electric power communication between said socket element [1, lamp element l3, switch l9, and electric wire connections W to effect the interior illumination of the casement III to direct light rays through the transparent window plate 20 and thence through the holes alignedly positioned in the deck of punched cards designated by the numeral 2| for the purpose of sort verification The punched card 2i illustrated in Figure 7 illustrates one example of the usual punched hole arrangement in such cards. It will be understood, of course, from reference to Figure 4, that the cards shown in the deck 2| are so placed by the operator after having been sorted by the sorting machine, and that such cards have punched holes which are in register throughout the deck, except in case an incorrectly punched or sorted card may be in the deck. It will be noted, too, that the bottom-plate II has formed at its right-hand side edge the butt-plane 22.

The transparent window-plate 20 has the finger spaces 20A and 20B arranged in register with correspondingly located finger spaces 14 and [2' respectively in the top plate It and the end plate [2 as shown, to enable the operator to conveniently grasp the deck in order to place it in the device or to remove it therefrom as may be desired.

The window plate 20 has a pair of downwardly depending lugs 29C adapted for threadably engaging the screw members 23 protruding through suitable apertures in the front-plate I4, thus fixing the position of the window-plate 20, the peripheral edges of which, rest upon the edges of the end-plates l2 and I3 and the top-plate H.

In the practical application of my improved device, the operator removes the deck from the sort compartment or the sorting machine and places it upon the bottom-plate ll so that the bottom edges of the cards in the deck rest on said bottom-plate while the inner face of the deck rests flat against the outer face of the window-plate 20 (see Figure 4). The deck 21 being thus positioned, the operator need only lightly press the left-hand end of the deck to bring its opposite end against the butt-plate 22 to effect the perfect alignment of the punched holes of the cards in the deck for verification. Then the operator grasps the foremost edge 24 of the bottom-plate II and lifts it to any convenient upwardly inclined position, which act releases the pressure exerted by the back-plate 15 against the button IQ of the switch 19. thus completing the electric circuit in the wiring W and effecting the illumination of the lamp element i8 for sighting through the then aligned punched holes in the cards comprising the deck.

When the sort is verified the operator simply lowers the bottom-plate to its original position and this action brings the back-plate I! again into contact with the button I! which breaks the electric circuit, thereby extinguishes the light from the lamp element l8. It is hereby made obvious that no illumination is effected in the casement i0 until the operator is ready to sight through the deck, and also that the eyes of the operator are at all times protected from direct contact with the full light rays from the lamp element [8.

While I have set forth herein one embodiment of my invention, modification and change may be made in the same within the scope of the appended claim, and the structure and arrangement of parts together with their co-operative adaptation herein set forth and illustrated in the drawings is to be understood as non-limiting.

What is claimed is:

A sort verifier for punched cards comprising in combination hingedly mounted and raisable casement means carrying an illuminable element, said illuminable element being non-illuminated while said casement means remain in normal lowered stacking position and illuminated when in raised position, a transparent closure comprising one face of said casement means, means integral with said casement means for supportedly holding a deck of punched cards for sort verification in relation to the transparent closure comprising one face of said casement means, hinge means integral with the casement means for the purpose of hingedly mounting the casement means on the frame portion of a work-top of a card sorting means, switch means mounted in said casement means, a contact button on said switch means and adapted for releasable contact against said frame portion of said worktop for the purpose of effecting the off and on action of the switch means and said illuminable means carried by said casement means, depending on the position of said casement means.

LEO PATRICK MARTIN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,203,263 Powers Oct. 31, 1916 1,230,102 Bottum June 19. 1917 1,245,765 Powers Nov. 6, 1929 1,728,458 Verduce Sept. 17. 1929 1,877,077 Stevens Sept. 13, 1932 2,099,012 Goodrich et a1 Nov. 16, 1937 2,352,719 King July 7, 1944 

